Knife-clip.



C. S. JOHNSON.

KNIFE CLIP.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.21. I914.

1 %68 25 1 Patented June 4:, 1918.

WITNESSES V INVENTOR 27 if. ,6 al/Am dzs \SZJOHNJON @wwi/ BY ATTORNEY CHARLES S. JOHNSON, OF MARCY, NEW YORK.

KNIFE-CLIP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June at; 1918.,

Application filcdll ebruary 21, 1914. Serial No. 820,329.

To all whom it may concemv Be it known that I, CHARLES .S. J oHNsoN, a citizen ofIthe UnitedStates, residing at Marcy, in the county of Oneida and Stateof New York, have inventedtcertain new and useful Improvements in Knife-Clips, of which the following isa specification, reference being hadtherein to the accompanying drawing,

My invention relatesto a knife clip: andI declare the following to be a full, clear, concise, and. exact description thereof sufiicient to enable any one skilled in the art to. which it appertains to make. and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which likereference characters refer tolike parts throughout the specification.-

, Theobject of the inventionis to provide a knife clip that willbe of simpleconstructionandadapted: to permit the quick and easy detachment'ofithe cutter barandcutting-knives or plates connected thereto from its. channel adjacent the finger bar of a mowing machine. 1 Such a clip. will be found 251 of inestimab'levalue in View of the clip that has been heretofore employed in the art, whichplip is eboltedto the; cutter bar and guard, and. in. order to serve its function properly, its end is hammereddown against thensurfacefl of the, cutting knife 1 or plate. Thehammering of the end of the clip tends tothrow its lower surfacetout offali'nement with the lower surface of the ends of'the other clips, also hammered, and thereby pre- -vent the easy detachment of1the cutterbar and cuttingknives or plates. connected thereto, when the knife edges. of. the cutting knives or. plates. need grinding or. sharpening. The troublesome feature just referred to-His avoided. in applicants. invention, as

will .be observed byreferring to the accompanyingdrawings, inwhich Fignre 1 is a plan view of a cutter bar and lmmedlate parts; g

Fig. 2 isan enlarged perspective View of a member e1nployed;;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspectiveview of a fragment of the cutter. bar and immediate parts; I a y Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the locking mechanism, showing a part out away, on the line 4 i of Fig.3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged. perspective View, partly in..sect1on of. a casing and. wedge shaped member employed; showing the parts in abnormal position, or with the Spring undenpressure; t

Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan viewbfa modified manner of holding the wedge shaped member in normal position.

. Referring morev particularly. to the drawings, the parts of themachine thatare old and well known in the art, are the finger bar 1, the guardspQ, having secured ithereto theplates 3 serrated at 4, the cutter bar 5 upon which is mounted the cutter knives or plates. 6, and the tedder 30.

The novel feature of the lILVQHblOHIOOlH- prises the mechanism adapted for detachably holding the cutterbar 5 and the cutting plates 6. connected thereto, in its channel] formedby the recessed parts. 8 and the lugs 9 of the guards 2. The mechanism embodiesa plurality, of the plates ltdisposed upon the fingerbar 1-. Upon the plates 1i restthe plates 10 having reduced portions 1111 with apertures 12-12,. which are countersunk for the flush fitting of the heads.

of the bolts 13 -13 that pass therethrough and through. the alined holes in the plates 14; and in thefinger bar 1, wherebythey may secure the guards 2 in assembled position upon the finger bar 1, as is wollknown in the art. The plates 14 are madeseparate from the plates 10, although they may be made integral therewith. The elevated central portion 15 of the plate 10 has an interior recess 16 provided with thesides 17 thattaper in a longitudinal manner. The sides 17 are, furthermore, arranged with the teeth 18 adapted tomesh with the teeth 19of the members or arms 20, pivotally connected. at 21. The teeth 19 ofthe members 20 are held in mesh with the teeth 18 of the sides 17' of recess 16 by the wedge shaped member 22, that is held yieldingly in normal position, as illustrated in Fig. 4:, by the spring 23, coiled aboutthe spindle 24, secured to the 'Wedge-shaped member 22. The sprin 123 bears at one end against the flange of the casing 26, and .atits other endagainst the boss27 mounted to the end of the spindle 24:. The casing 26 is held stationary upon the bottom surface of the recess 16 of the. plate 10 by the screw or bolt 28 passing through the aperture 29 of the casing 26-and into the bottom surface of the plate 10. The wedge shaped member22 is provided with a,

20 from the recess 16. The sides 33-33 of the members 22 are tapered to aid in separating the free ends of the members 20 when assembling the same. The outer ends of the members 20 are disposed in horizontal position, so as to lie parallel with the upper surfaces of the cutting plates 6 and to therer by hold the cutting plates 6 tightly against the plates 4 upon the guards 2, so that the knife edges 34 of the cutting plates 6 will effectively coiiperate with the serrated edges 4 of the plates 3 to cut the grass. Furthermore, the members 20 are arched at 35 to provide a clearance for the top portions of the rivets 36 that secure the cutting plates 6 to the cutter bar 5. The members 20 are also shouldered at 37 to form stops adapted to abut against the surface or edge of the recess 16 formed in the elevated portion 15 of i the plate 10, whereby to limit the inward projection of the members 20, when the same are being disposed in locked position.

The operation of the device is effected by employing any number of the locking members that are secured at suitable intervals along the finger bar 1. The cutter bar 5 with its cutting plates 6 is assembled in its channel 7 in such a manner that the ends of the cutting plates 6 will ride normally along the surfaces of the plates 14, and the bar 5 and the plates 6 free to slide or reciprocate under the action of a pitman, not here shown, secured at the end of the cutter bar 5, by inserting, as far as the shoulders 37 will permit, the free ends of the members 20 into the recess 16 of theelevated portion 15 of the plate 10. The free ends of the members 20 will ride over the tapered sides 33 of the wedge shaped member 22 and come to rest against the sides 41-41 of the said member. In this position, the teeth 19 of the members 20 will mesh with the teeth 18 of the sides 17 of the recess 16, whereby to hold the members 20 in locked position. In the event, that it is found desirable to remove the cutter bar 5 in order to sharpen the knife edges 34 of the cutting plates 6, the operator pulls outward on the handles 32 to draw the members 22 rearwardly andfree from the contiguous ends of the members 20, whereupon, the free ends of the members '20 may be moved toward each other, so that the teeth 19 of the members 20 will clear the teeth 18 of the sides 17 of the recess 16, and thus erally from the channel 7 and taken from the machine. Upon releasing the handles 32, the wedge shaped members 22 will move forward under the tension of the springs 23 into their normal positions, as shown in Fig. 4, whereby to again be in the location to lock the free ends of the members 20, when they are returned to the recess 16.

- Fig. 6 shows a modified manner of returningthe wedge shaped member 22 to its normal position. The means embodies a coiled spring 50-secured at one end to an orifice 51 in the member 22 and at the other end to a hook or inverted U shaped member 52 secured to the bottom of the recess 16 of the plate 10 at about the location of the bolt 28 of the former construction. The member 22 is held to a given path of movement by the spindle 53, secured tothe said member 22 and projecting through the interior of the coiled spring 50.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a mowing machine having a cutter bar, a plate to be mountedon a finger bar,

having a recess, removable means mounted in said recess for holding said cutter bar in position, and spring means for holding said removable means in place.

2. In a mowing machine having a cutter bar, a plate, to be mounted on a finger bar, having a recess, two arms pivoted at the front of said. plate and extending downwardly upon said cutter bar, and spring means for holding said arms in position in said recess. I

3. In amowing machine havinga cutter bar, a plate, to be mounted on a finger bar, having a recess, two arms pivoted at the front of said plate and extending downwardly upon the cutter bar, and detachable means for holding said arms in said recess in said plate. 4. In a mowing machine having a cutter bar, a plate, to be mounted on a finger bar, having a recess, two arms pivoted together, teeth in said arms, other teeth in said plate, and spring means, whereby to hold said arms within the recess in said plate.

5. In a mowing machine having a cutter bar, a plate, to be mounted on a finger bar, having a recess on its lower side, teeth formed within said recess, two arms pivoted at the front of the plate, and extending on said arms, whereby to engage with the first mentioned teeth, within said recess, and means for holding the teeth in said arms in mesh with the teeth in said recess.

6. In a mowing machine having a cutter bar, a plate, to be mounted on a finger bar, having a recess, teeth formed in said plate, two arms pivoted at the front of the plate and extending downwardly" upon the cutter bar, teeth formed on the opposite ends of In testimony whereof I have afiixed my said arms, whereby to engage With the teeth signature in the presence of two Witnesses. formed in said plate, and a Wedge shaped member, having a handle, located in the re- CHARLES N 5 cess in said plate, and spring means for Witnesses:

holding said teeth on said arms in mesh with SAMUEL SLOAN,

the teeth formed in said plate. T. L. WILDER- Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

- Washington, D. 0. 

